Questions about 243ai dies

MaxKW

MaxKW

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I have the rifle at home ready to go but the dies seem to be a lot harder to get than I thought, I saw the odd set for sale when I didn't need them and now they seem to be impossible to get, I hear that I can just use a bushing die but I have no experience with these, any suggestions?
 
I am running a lee 243 collet die for neck sizing. I was able to get a redding body die used. I don't own a fl sizing die. This combo works well for me. If you can find a 243 collet die and lee seater die. You can get a few loadings before you'll need to fl or bump the shoulders. I use the lee seater die as well. I had to screw it out a bit but it works well and im getting about .002 run out. So for now its what I will stick with.
On a side note with the lee die. I put 6 marks evenly on the circumference of the die. And a mark on the seater stem. Each adjustment is not quite .010" kind of like a poor man's micrometer seater I guess.
 
higginson powder in hawksbury has them i got a set last fall wholesale sports in winnepeg , brownells , midway usa, start your search im sure you will find them . if it was 9mm i got a extra set here that i bought thinking i didnt have a set..... hound13
 
Higginson has AI dies or collet dies? I'm trying to not buy from the states if I can help it.

You must be talking about collet dies because because midway USA and brownells are out of stock on 243ai dies.
 
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Yes the lee 243 seater will work. I just had to thread the die body out a bit so that it didn't touch the shoulder of the brass. The only ai specific die I have is the body die.
 
I tried my RCBS seater and it seemed to work, had to back it off a bit but seats good and runout seems good.

Are you using the body die just to squeeze it down once in a while when neck sizing?
 
I will have to retry my RCBS die. Maybe I didn't back it out far enough. Sorry for the bad info.
I only use the body die after the 3rd or 4th firing. I am new to AI cases, but I think due to the lack of case taper that they start to get kind of tight in the chamber sooner than the parent case.
However I know my first loads were a little too hot, I have backed off a bit and started with a new batch of brass so I will have to wait and see.
 
I'm new to this as well, have been reloading for 13 years but never a AI, I just backed off the seater stem and kept screwing the die out until the case would go all the way in then screwed the stem back down to desired seating depth.
 
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